8 of 9
by Giliti
Summary: Team Kakashi has been sent on a mission to find the 8-tailed jinchuriki and what they find is more than they expected. Slight NaruSaku
1. A Tragic Beginning

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters or any of their abilities.

**Author's Note:** This if my first fanfiction peice. Sorry if it needs a lot of work. Thanks

**A Tragic Beginning**

It had been two of the hardest weeks for Konoha's "Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja". His friend, who had become more like a brother, was dead. Uchiha Sasuke was killed at the hands of his own brother.

_-----Flashback_

Three years of training with Orochimaru had done nothing but level the battlefield. Itachi stilled had far more experience than his younger brother and the mangekyou sharigan. During the battle all Naruto could do was sit back and watch. He could help Sasuke when he needed it the most. Team Kakshi and team 10 had been able to take care of team Hebi without much of a fight though not much more could be done as the last two known members of the Uchiha clan battled to the death. They watched in horror as Itachi copied the Saske's Chidori. The two attacks met, and with his battlefield expeirence, Itachi was able to kill his brother.

As Sasuke's lifeless body landed on the ground, it was too much for Naruto. Something inside of him snapped. All his anger, all his frustration, all his hatred was unleashed on Itachi. Using his Rasenshuriken, he was able to defeat Itachi. It was he who was able to take out Sasuke's want for revenge. The Akatsuki member was killed by the very person he was supposed to capture but the victory was hollow. He had lost Sasuke; his friend, his brother.

-----_End Flashback_

The funeral for Sasuke had been about ten days ago but for Naruto those ten days had been the absolute worst in his life. He had barely left his small apartment; he had barely eaten or even slept. That day kept replaying in his mind over and over again. He couldn't save Sasuke. He had lost one of the most important people in his life and if he couldn't protect him, how could he even think about becoming Hokage when he couldn't protect him; he couldn't save him like he had promised what seemed now a lifetime ago.

On the other side of town a young, pink-haired kunoichi was having a hard time getting over the lose of her childhood crush but every time she began to think of that day she would look in the direction in which Naruto lived.

"As hard as this is for me, this is much worst for him," was her thought.

She had tried multiple times to coax her friend out of his apartment but to no avail.

-----_Flashback (three days ago)_

"Naruto come on let's get some Ramen, my treat and you can even call it a date."

"Sorry Sakura-chan, I don't feel much like getting Ramen today."

She had never known him to turn down free Ramen and even the potential of a date with her had always excited him.

"Please Naruto, if were to just talk about it you would feel a little better."

"What is there to talk about?!" he snapped, "I wasn't able to save Sasuke, I wasn't able to keep my promise and you want me to get over it like that!" He had slammed the door in her face.

He had never talked to her like that and though that was a surprise, she was more surprised by how much it had hurt her. She had found herself at the Hokage tower.

"You must imagine how much this hurts him; a boy who had never known family, who had never known what a kind word felt like. Losing Sasuke to him is like losing apart of himself. You just need to give him sometime, he will eventually return to his knuckle-headed self." Tsunade-sama had said.

"But this is unlike Naruto. He turned down free Ramen, he even turned down," she had blushed a little at the thought of what she was about to say, "a date with me."

"I know you care about him, Sakura, and so do I. Give him a couple of days and try again, I am sure by then he will be much better."

"Thank you, Shishuo."

-----_End Flashback_

She had taken the advice but yesterday was just as bad. He was even worse and she knew that if she didn't get him out today he may not ever come out of his apartment again. She had arranged with Ino to have her bring all of their friends and meet them at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. She had her own mission, Naruto need his friends right now or they all would face losing him as well.

As she strolled towards Naruto's apartment building she couldn't help but feel as though she was going to save her friend from a fate worse than death. Naruto had been alone until he was placed in Team 7 at the age of twelve. He had lived on his own, not knowing who his parents were, or even having a companion but he always wore a smile to mask the pain. But after Sasuke died he no longer wore his mask and was no longer the happy person she had come to know and care for.

"Naruto, you were there for me when Sasuke left to go find Orochimaru. And now that Sasuke is gone; you need me."

As she arrived, a feeling of depression washed over. She knocked on the door, no answer, again she knock, this time she heard some stirring coming from inside.

"Naruto! Open this door, or I will open it."

"Go away, Sakura-chan. I just want to be left alone."

"Okay if that is the way you feel."

The door had splintered as she punched it. The inside of small apartment was just as depressing as it had felt outside. He was lying on his couch.

"I told you I would come in if you didn't open the door." Changing her tone of voice to a more sympathetic tone she said. "I know you miss Sasuke, I do too but to sit around and mope about it won't change a thing, he is gone and we are still here. You need your friends right now Naruto, you need me and right now I need you as well." She blushed a little as she said the latter.

"Sakura-chan, what kind of friend am I. I couldn't save him, I…"

"Right now, I am not worried about him, I am worried about you, so get up and get dressed our friends are down at Ichiraku waiting on us."

"But…"

"No buts. And this time I am not above forcing you to leave."

He did as he was told; after all she was much stronger than he was.

As they made there way down the street all eyes were on the pair, or more specifically, Naruto. In the past several days the villagers had all began to have different views about the young man. Some had begun to see him, no longer as the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, but as a hero, he was able to defeat the criminal Itachi with only the lose of a traitor. Some saw him as a person who caused the destruction of one of Konoha's most powerful clan; sure he had beaten an S-ranked criminal but the other Uchiha had gone off to do the same. He needed to train and though he had decided to train with one of Konoha's biggest traitors, he did kill him in the end; didn't that prove his loyalty to the Leaf. Still others just saw him the same as he had been two weeks ago, a monster, a freak, and a relic of the past, something to be despised and hated.

Naruto's mind was elsewhere, that coupled with the fact that he had always received some of the looks he was getting, so he didn't really notice all of glares he was getting. Sakura on the other hand had. Those who had a low opinion of the blonde shinobi were now also looking down at her.

"How can she possibly want to be seen with 'it'," was one of the comments she had been unlucky enough to here.

"You have to admire her caring heart. To be seen walking next to such a thing, I wouldn't be caught dead with it," was another.

All eyes were on the two and she knew it. Though she was walking with Naruto to meet up with friends, she couldn't help but feel… alone.

"Was this what it was like for you growing-up, Naruto?" she thought as she walked beside him.

She couldn't help but look over at her friend with both pity and admiration.

As they approached Ichiraku's, Naruto couldn't help but see all of his friends had come to see him. And a small smile began to spread across his face.


	2. The New Mission

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters or their abilities, expect for those that will most likely be introduced later in this story.

**The New Mission**

"You called for me Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, it has been about one month since the battle between Sasuke and Itachi. This should have been ample amount of time for the two of them to grieve."

"Sakura seems to be doing better but Naruto still has yet to return to his old self. Mind you he is getting there but it may take some more time."

"I understand, he lost a brother but right now we have more important things to worry about, Kakashi."

"Yes, the Akutsuki."

"There has been no report of them moving since Jiraya's fight with Pein. I think they are planning something."

"If you don't mind my asking, what do you believe they are planning?"

"That is the very purpose behind your next mission."

Down in the village, a certain young shinobi was still trying to get over the lose of a friend but in the past few weeks he came to realized that though he had lost some one very important to him, he couldn't give up, there were still others who cared for him.

"Naruto! Hurry up," came a familiar cry.

"Why bother, Sakura-chan? Kakashi-sensei is always running late so why should I be in that big of a hurry?"

Over the past few weeks the two had become inseparable, which started many rumors about the young pair. Whenever anyone confronted them about it, they would turn away from each other and blush slightly. The two friends, as anyone would tell you were becoming more than friends, they just tried to deny it.

"I want to be there early, I mean does it really hurt to be there early? Who knows this time he could actually show up on time."

"I seriously doubt it," he had said under his breath.

"Well we are going now, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming, we are not going to be late."

The past month had been tough on the two. Losing Sasuke had caused them a lot of pain but it had also made them realize how these two really did rely on each other and possibly need each other. Each had secretly made the pact, without telling the other, they would do everything in their power to keep from losing another teammate.

"I told you he was going to be late, even Sai isn't here on time."

"Hello, sorry I am late; I just had to save a poor little kitten from drowning."

As if it had become a small little ritual of theirs, the two went into a frenzy about how they had been waiting and how he was a liar… he usually tuned them out when they started that.

"Good to see the two of you are in good spirits. We have a mission but this time Tsunade-sama will be briefing us in person. I ran into Sai earlier this morning and told him. He agreed to meet at the Hokage's tower."

"If Tsunda-baachan wanted to brief us herself about this mission why didn't you just tell us to meet you at her office?"

Sakura would have usually punched him for this but this time he did make a point.

"Well I just figured the two of you would want a little alone time before we set on time mission," his tone suddenly changed, "from everything I have been told this could be a long and deadly one.

"See you at her office in about two hours." Kakashi had said with a smile as he left in his usual cloud of smoke.

Kakashi had left the pair on the bridge were the once complete Team 7 used to meet.

"I wonder what kind of mission?" He was the one to break the silence.

"Huh………" her mind was still on Kakashi's last words 'a long and deadly one'

"I wonder what kind of mission we are being sent on?"

"I don't know."

"Hey Sakura-chan, we have about an hour and a half until we have to meet with Tsunade-baachan, do you want to go with me to get something to eat?"

The past month had changed Sakura's opinion about Naruto and opened her eyes to how important he truly was to her but she was not about to let on, not yet any way.

"Only if you pay."

"I don't know if I have enough for the both of us." Naruto pulled out Gama-chan and gave him a quick check.

"Naruto you are so pathetic. I will pay for my half this time but when we get back from the mission you are taking me out and paying me back," she saw the look in his eyes as she said this, "but we are not going to get ramen, when we get back, I get to chose the restaurant."

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaan!"

"That or no deal and you eat by yourself today." She really had no intentions of letting him eat alone but she knew this was the best way for her to get what she really wanted from him.

"Okay, okay, okay, since you twisted my arm. You have a deal," Naruto replied, smiling the whole time.

-----At the Hokage tower, an hour and a half later

"I am glad to see the two of you are doing better," began the Godaime. "I know this had been a tough few weeks for the two of you, losing your former teammate like that but right now there are more pressing matters. As you know the remaining members of Akatsuki are still alive but they have been unusually quiet in the past few weeks…"

"Maybe they are scared to face us…" Naruto started.

"I wish I could believe that but unfortunately that is not the case. Naruto as you know you are the last one the Akatsuki have been ordered to obtain, which probably means that the remaining members will all try to capture you at one time. So, what have they been doing these past few weeks?"

"Licking their wounds, most likely," Naruto said so only Sakura and Sai could hear. Only getting himself a new lump from Sakura.

"It has come to my attention that they are after the eight-tailed demon's vessel. The only problem is that this person's whereabouts are unknown. In fact, the only thing we do know is that it has been sealed inside a human."

"So we are being sent on a mission to find this person before the Akatsuki do," Sakura stated.

"Exactly!"

"But then why us?"

"Because of Naruto, Sakura. He too is being chased by the same organization and I believe that if you do find the person whom you seek, that person could become a powerful ally."

"But why not keep him around here, send somebody else or send somebody in his stead." Sakura could not help but start to shed a few tears at the idea of them running in the Akatsuki and her losing Naruto.

"Sakura, calm down," Kakashi said in his calming voice, "Nothing is going to happen, remember I won't let anything happen my comrades."

"Besides Sakura-chan, this person whom they are after will probably only let himself be found by one person, am I right Baa-chan?" stated Naruto.

"You are right, I believe if this person discovers that you two are the last and his very existence could depend on working with you, then we would have a chance at finally stopping the Akatsuki."

A sudden thought come over Sakura, "And if we don't and they get to him first?"

"Then we will have to find a way to find another way of stopping them."

A silence fell over all of them. Even the emotionless Sai seemed to feel the sudden sadness of the room. It was Naruto who broke the silence.

"So when do we leave?"

"You leave in the morning. According to Jiraya, he received some information that the Eight-tailed demon's vessel is residing in the former land of Darkness. It is a five day journey from here to there. You are all dismissed, I suggest you all take the day off and just relax, tomorrow your journey begins." They all turned to leave, when Tsunade spoke up, "Sakura, can I talk with you?"

"Yes, Shisho?" she responded timidly.

"You two have gotten very close."

"Excuse me?" replied Sakura timidly.

"You and Naruto, you have become much closer than you were before."  
"I suppose you could say that the lose of Sasuke has brought us closer together, Shisho."

"No, you two have been getting closer since he returned. I want you to take care."  
"I don't think I understand."

"In our line of work unfortunately we lose those whom we care about," she said thinking of the brother and lover she had lost years ago.

"Do not waste a moment or you will regret it."

"Yes, Shisho." She turned to walk out.

"Oh, and you probably need to pack for a long trip, you may be gone for a long time."

Naruto had waited for her outside of her office.

"So what did Baa-chan want to talk to you about?"

After a quick nock on the head she said, "None of your business, now come on, we need to pack and for the mission."

"Come on Sakura-chan," he said rubbing his head, "I think I know how to pack for missions."

"Yeah but you usually waste a lot of space in your bag, so you really need the help." She told him with a sideways glance as they stepped out of the Hokage tower.


	3. Onto the Darkness

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own Naruto

**Author's note:** I don't even like this chapter very much but it is nessicary to write. Please read and review

**Onto the Darkness**

Naruto didn't complain much about having Sakura help him pack, he was just happy to have the company, he still didn't want to be left alone. He didn't blame himself for Sasuke's death anymore, but he still wasn't himself, not yet anyway. Sakura had made up her own mind; that Naruto was in need of her help, not just to pack. But to still get over Sasuke, she was not feeling as bad about the situation as he was, however whether or not she would admit it, she was not there because Naruto was still grieving, she was helping the person most precious to her.

"Sakura-chan, here, I think I will need this don't you," (handing her a couple of scrolls).

"Huh?" She had been day dreaming. "Yes, you might need those."

"Hey, Naruto, are you sure you are up for this mission?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well going to find this person, it could take us a long time, and we could run into, 'them'."

A small smirk came across his face, "Why are you worried about this mission?"

She blushed, "Well, I this is the first mission in a long one, not only that but it is an A-ranked, so confrontation is guaranteed. And well I… was just about… um" she felt like Hinata, why couldn't she talk to Naruto all of a sudden.

"I am worried about you too."

"How did he know what I was going to say?" she thought.

"I have already lost one teammate…" she paused before he finished her sentence. The thought of losing Naruto was too much for her to bear.

"I don't want to lose you or anybody else either and if this mission brings me one step closer to being able to save those close to me, I'll do it."

They finished packing in silence. Sakura left Naruto's apartment, still worried. As she walked home she began to worry more and more about the upcoming mission. Through the night she worried less about the mission but more about her friend and what it could mean if they ran into the Akatsuki on this mission.

The sun rose as Team Kakashi waited at the city gates for all its members to assemble. Sai was the first to arrive on this foggy morning followed closely by Sakura then Naruto. That stood in silence, each lost in their thoughts. Kakashi soon arrived, late but not as late as usual and even he seemed to be worried about their mission.

"Okay, we are heading into the former land of Darkness. Naruto, Sakura…"

"Yes." They replied in unison

"You two have had a slight experience in the place were we are traveling to."

"How is that possible, Kakashi-sensei, I have never even heard of this place until yesterday," said the pink-haired kuniochi.

"No, you shouldn't have heard of it, even I know very little about. In fact talking to people in the village about this place would be like talking to them about the Kyuubi. From what I understand our village fought against a former shinobi village that used to be there but from what I gathered we lost more shinobi to the land, than to the other village."

"THEN WERE THE HELL COULD WE HAVE GOTTEN EXPERIENCE IN A PLACE LIKE THAT?!" yelled Naruto.

"The Forest of Death."

They all looked shocked, except for Sai, who kept his usual emotionless face.

"Yes, the Forest of Death was created specifically to train our village's shinobi in the dangers they would face in the Land of Darkness while we warred with that village."

"So if a village were to survive in a place like that then why didn't we study about it at the Academy?" asked Sakura.

"Good question Sakura. The answer is because it has been completely wiped out. From what I gathered, our two villages were at a stalemate and with the loose of life growing ever greater, a ceasefire was signed but peace was never declared. About 15 and a half years ago, we were on the verge of another war with the village…" he trailed off.

"Then what happend?" Naruto seemed to be reading the minds of his companions.

"Nothing, a scouting party was sent into look over the area but the village was almost in complete ruins and every villager was gone. Nobody truly knows what happened to them and we don't really want to know. Probably destroyed by whatever was in that land, you don't build a village in a place like that and expect it to last long."

After a short silence Sakura spoke up, "And it is believed the person with the eight-tailed demon is living there?"

"It makes sense; I mean only a complete fool would go to a place like that."

"But we are going there," Naruto said with a note of panic in his voice as if he was relieving his five days in the Forest of Death.

"So I guess that makes us fools," this was the first thing Sai had said all morning and he said with the false smile he usually wore.

"Not real comforting," stated Naruto.

"Well Naruto, he makes a point. So, if we are finished talking I say we head out. It is a five day trip over some pretty rough terrain."

With that Team Kakashi set out to the Land of Darkness.

A five day trip ahead of them two eyes looked upon the team, as it took its first steps toward their destination.

"Well, it appears that within five days I will be getting more company,I best prepare to make them… welcome," the owner of the eyes said with a sinister smirk and a snicker.


	4. An Unwelcome Welcome

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Naruto. Good for everyone else, bad for me.

**Author's Note**: Well with the winter term about to be upon us and me being in college and a history major, this will be my last update for a little while. I will try to make updates as soon as I can but unforturnately were I go to school updates will be coming in very slowly. I will short for once a month if not sooner but no promises. Thank you for reading and please continue to enjoy **8 of 9** and don't forget to read and review.

**An Unwelcome Welcome**

The five day trip had been a long and arduous one. The first night of their trek had been spent at the base of a mountain. The night air had been cold and unpleasant, with the breeze that blew from the peak of the mountain. None of the team members slept well the first night. The next day they began to climb the mountain because there was no easy way to go around it; in fact it was just easier to climb the sheer rock faces than risk trying to go around it. However it was still difficult to make the climb even with all of their training. That night had been spent on the mountain itself, they had found a small, flat area to make a small fire and set up a place to sleep. Though sleep in a place like that was not easy to come by in a place like that. Even so the team was up before the sun, not that they could see the sun and began to ascend. By the end of the day they finally reached the peek. Not wanting to spend a night on the peek, the team did not sleep on the third night, but instead pushed through. Day four was not much better; a small storm had come up on them during the night and showed no sign of letting up anytime soon.

"Okay, we rest here," these were the first words Kakashi had spoken all day.

"Come on, if we push through we will make it by nightfall," came the exhausted reply of Naruto.

"Naruto, sensei is right at this rate, we will be to exhausted if we keep going, besides we haven't slept much in the past few days and this place is the most peaceful we have seen since we started," replied Sakura.

"Sakura is right, besides from what I here, we don't want to go into this place at night."

"But what if…what if we are too late."  
"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi.

"This person, who we are after is like me. There is a price on his head and the Akatsuki is after him and if they get to him first and capture him…" he trailed off.

"Then we had better prepare to fight because they will be coming after you."

"Not real reassuring Sai."

"He makes a good point, Sakura. Naruto will be next and they will all come after him in full force."

After a few short arguments and snide comments, the team set up for the night. While the others slept Naruto was lost in his own thoughts.

"If they already got the guy with the eight-tailed demon inside him, then well, I'm next." With quick glance over at the pink-haired kunoichi, "and they have already proven they are not above injuring those who I am close with to get to me."

Eventually sleep found him but it was not peaceful, his past fights with the Akatsuki, his battle with Hebi, and the image of Sasuke's death all ran through his head.

Kakashi woke them all before the sun rose. After a quick breakfast, the team set off. A few hours into their trek they reached their goal. After a few trembling steps into this place, almost all of the members of the team began to feel a bit unnerved by the sights they beheld. It was obvious the place they were in was dangerous by all of the signs of battle, not ancient wars or wars fought nearly two decades ago. No, these signs of battle were made within the past few days, if not hours.

"Eeeeeeeewe, Naruto!"

"I swear that wasn't me Sakura-chan."

"He is right Sakura, that couldn't have been him," came the retort of Kakashi. "It doesn't smell like that but instead it smells like dried blood and death."

"See I told you, Sakura-chan."

"Fine, fine, then were is it coming from?"

It was not long until Sakura got her answer. Setting there in front of them was a sight that even with years of training you cannot prepare for.

"Kakashi-sensei…is that…"

"Yes, Naruto, that was one of the members of the Akatsuki."

"Who would do such a thing, I mean no one deserves this," Sakura said, the fear starting to come over her.

In front of them was nothing more than the head of Hoshigaki Kisame stuck on the handle of his katana, Samhada, as though it were a pike. His eyes were rolled back in his head with a small line of blood coming from his nose, as is common with those who have been decapitated.

"No way," Naruto stared in disbelief. "Kakashi-sensei, how is this possible, I mean what could do this or be this strong?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is, they are giving us a warning. Be on your toes. I have a feeling this person doesn't like visitors."

"How observant," rang a disembodied voice, "of course I wouldn't expect any less from the Copy-Ninja, Hatake Kakashi."

"So you know who I am?!"

"Of course," came the reply, "I know all of you. First there's you, Kakashi. Renowned fighter, fabled to have copied over one-thousand jutsus. Then there is Haruno Sakura, the medic of the team. You have excellent charka control and are super strong, those two thing coupled together allow you to make a very deadly opponent on the battlefield. Sai, the newest member of the team. You are a member of Konoha's ANBU Root organization. You were trained to have no emotions, no past, no future, just the mission. And then there's _you_." With this the owner of the voice appeared on tree branch right in front of them. He was clad in simple shinobi attire. A loose fitting black shirt and pants was all he wore. The sleeves had been cut off at the shoulder. His legs were wrapped too, from his ankles to his shins, along with arms wrapped from wrist to mid-forearm and his shoes were obliviously old and worn but severed their purpose. Across his back he had a katana, sheathed in a red. He face was purposely hidden in the shadows to maintain a certain amount of secrecy.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Hated because of you what you are, a Jinchuuriki. Host of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the very demon that cost the lives of several valuable shinobi, in fact, many in your village see you as the best. Tell me Uzumaki Naruto, what is it like to see your best friend die and not be able to stop it. Must be pretty hard, not being able to save him from…. well, from himself."

"Shut up!" The rage had been building up inside Naruto.

"Sorry, I didn't know that the traitor of your village was such a…soft spot for you."

With this Naruto had enough, he charged. He got no more than two steps before his intended opponent was in front of him.

"Bad move, dumbass."

To Naruto it felt as though he had just been punched in the gut by one-thousand different people all as strong Sakura. He fell to the ground puking blood and writhing in pain.

"And that was just one finger." A small smirk spread across his face.

"You really are pathetic and you wish to become a Hokage. Don't make me laugh."

Seeing her friend in such a state was too much for her. She was about to charge, putting as much chakra into her fist as possible, she would kill this person for what he had done. She stopped dead. The feel of cold steel against her neck made her cringe.

With the blade to her throat "Don't move or you'll loose your head, Bitch."

At this distance she got a good look at their 'host' face. From the looks of it he was about their age. His brown hair was pulled back in an untidy pony-tail. He still had parts of his hair hanging around his forehead protector. He was taller than her, nearly as tall as Kakashi.

"Don't think I am not above killing you," he said just above a whisper.  
"Put your weapons away or I'll kill her," he said in a more audible tone.

She looked from him to the katana in his hand. From the looks of it, it was a red chakra blade and an ancient one at that.

"You're lucky."

She suddenly felt the steel move from her neck. Her assailant was gone.

"Look behind you."

They turned.

"Now that you know I mean business. What do you want?"

"We are on a mission from the Godaime of the Village hidden in the Leaves," spoke up Kakashi. "We are here in search of the host of the Eight-Tailed Demon…"

"You know, you are the second group to show up looking for me."  
"So it is safe to assume that the Akatsuki ran into you earlier?"

"Of course, it was so much fun to remove that bastard's head," he said as he pointed to the disembodied head behind them.

"Awwwe," Naruto moaned and coughed more blood.

"Girly, you may want to help your boyfriend."

Had it been any other situation she would have protested to being told Naruto was her boyfriend but looking at him, she didn't think she had time to argue.

"He'll live, if you are wondering, now, Kakashi of the sharingan eye, what business do you have to do with me?"

"We are here to provide you with protection from the rest of the Akatsuki and escort you back to Konoha."

"Why the hell would I do that? But I tell you what, if you meet my condition, I will give you a chance to discuss this matter with me futher."

"What is your condition," Naruto replied with a slight moan.

"You have to make it one night in these woods and you will be escorted to a safer location."

"Too easy," Naruto said with an almost forced cheerfulness, "we made it five nights in the Forest of Death, and that was based on this place, so no problem."

"Ha, if it were that easy I wouldn't have made it my condition," he turned to leave. "One piece of advice," he said with a much kinder tone, "don't start any fires, leave to do anything by yourself, or leave this area. There was a resent shinobi battle here, the creatures in these woods remember the last one and would be weary to come around here looking for a free meal in case there are any survivors." With that, their 'host' left.


	5. Night in the Land of Darkness

NIGHT IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS

Team Kakashi sat in the small clearing their 'host' had advised them to. They had taken the time to remove the remains of Kisame, though the smell of death still lingered in the air. The sun was setting, it promised to be a moonless, cold night.

"Damn it, why don't we just go ahead and make a fire!?"

"Because, Naruto, we are going to take our 'host' advice and not," replied Kakashi in his normal, nonchalant manner.

"What would be attracted to flames that could really be that dangerous?"

Kakashi casually slide a kunai from his holster and tossed it at a nearby tree.

A squeal seemed to emit from the tree.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

To answer Naruto's outburst, he casually strode over to the tree and began to remove it along with what appeared to be a large hunk of bark from where the others sat. The closer he came, the larger whatever he was bringing became.

What he tossed into their little ring was not a hunk of bark.

"What is that thing?"

"Kakashi-sensei, is that really what I think it is?"

"Why, yes Sakura, it is."

"Why, I believe it is nothing more than a moth."

"Thanks, Sai," replied Naruto with a sideways glance.

"Well, at least now you know why we were told to not light any fires."

Naruto sat speechless.

"We need to take our 'host's' advice, so we will take look out shifts in twos. Naruto, Sakura, you two need to rest a little, Sai and I will come and get you in about an hour."

The two sheepishly looked at each other and nodded. They then went to their sleeping areas and were quickly asleep.

"Naruto, time for you and Sakura to take you shift."

"What, five more minutes Sai."

_Wham!_

"Sakura, you didn't have to hit Naruto like that," came Kakashi with as much sincerity he could muster.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan."

"Well the other two need their sleep as much as we needed ours."

"Okay, Okay," came the groggy reply.

It wasn't long until Sai and Kakashi were asleep.

The two were silent until Naruto spoke up.

"Sakura-chan, I am sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For not being able to save Sasuke, I know how much you loved him."

"I did care for him but over time I came to realize that I wasn't in love with him, I realized I actually loved somebody else."

This seemed to dishearten him, "Oh, do I know him?"

But before she could answer Kakashi was in front of them with Sai by his side.

"Quiet you two, we are not alone." He pointed to a bush.

They looked in the direction he was pointing and watched, it was not long until what they were watching came into the clearing. A large scorpion, approximately 10 meters in length and 6 meters in height appeared. Without hesitation the creature attacked. It swung one of its massive claws at Sai knocking him into a tree hard enough to break the tree. Sai lay there, unconscious.

"Okay, we don't have time to waste with this thing. Kage Bushin no jutsu."

Naruto started to prepare for his Rasengan but was stopped as his clone was grabbed and crushed in the scorpion's claw, while the other was dodging his stinger.

"Okay my turn!" screamed Sakura, running toward the creature one of her chakra packed punches. She didn't seem to notice as the stinger came racing toward her.

"Sakura-chan, look out."

With that she stopped and looked in shock as the massive tail come racing toward her. The next thing she knew was being pushed out of the way.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a scratch."

She looked, a gash across his leg, but it did not seem to inhibit him, yet anyway.

"Okay, now that both of you are okay, Naruto distract that thing, Sakura look after Sai. I know of a way of dealing with this thing," said Kakashi revealing his Sharingan.

"Got it, _Taju Kage Bushin no Jutsu_," all of the clones attacked the scorpion.

Sakura rushed to Sai's aid as she looked on the battle with concern.

"Alright Naruto, get out of the way. _Mangekyo Sharingan_!"

Kakashi focused on his target. The rest of the team watched as they saw the dimensional rift open up.

_Crack!_

The scorpion's tail hit the ground; send its owner scurrying away in pain.

"Well, I missed my target, but I was still able to get ride of that thing," Kakashi said panting.

"Way to go…" Naruto collapsed, holding the place where he had been struck by the scorpion.

"Naruto!" Sakura ran up to her friend and began to exam his cut.

"This is more of a gash than a cut and it has been poisoned, I have to work fast, a scorpion that size had to have a lot of poison."

She began to work as rapidly as she possible could.

Several agonizing minutes passed, but to Naruto it seemed like hours.

"Naruto, what were you thinking!!!?" were the words that came from Sakura after she had healed Naruto.

"I had to protect you Sakura-chan, I prom……" he fainted.

Sai took one of his canteens and splashed over his face.

"Wha…What was that?"

"You feel asleep and unfortunately we are surrounded," came Sai with is normal empty smile.

"By what?"

"Naruto…I don't think…we want to…find out," Kakashi replied inbetween breathes.

None of the team slept the rest of that night. A few more attacks occurred by more curious nocturnal creatures, from a lizard about 6 meters in length, to a hungry spider nearly 12 meters tall.

By the time the sun had begun to appear the entire team had a combined sleep time of about 3.5 hours.

"I am truly impressed, I thought the scoprion would have done you in for sure," came a voice in a matter of fact tone.

"Like a little thi…hey who said that?"

"I did, loudmouth," the voice was calm, almost soothing, "I am not up there, look toward the ground."

They all looked and what sat there in front of them was a small, black and white tabby cat.

"Don't look so surprised," it purred.

"I take it you are here to take us to our final destination,"

"Indeed, Sharingan Kakashi."

"Wait, I thought that one guy was supposed to escort us!?"

"The Boss did say that Uzumaki Naruto was a dumbass as well as a loudmouth," it gave what could be considered a little chuckle. "As far as I know he only said if you make it through the night you will be escorted to your destination but not by whom. Now if you are ready we best head out, at my pace and we stay on the ground."  
"But wouldn't it be faster to travel through the trees?"

"You really are a dumbass." It gave a smirk with its eyes and put its paw on the nearest tree.

From the branches of the tree leapt a giant snake, jaws open, ready to devour the tabby. It gave the snake a small look of pity as it jumped toward the snake and with a shower of blood the snake's head landed on the ground, its body still dangling in the tree it jumped from. The cat landed gingerly on its head, cleaning his paws.

"They are so cute when they are babies," It continued to clean its paws. "Now if you are done asking questions, follow me."

It took off at a trot, leaving the stunned team behind them.

"What the hell!!?"  
"It must have been trained by our 'host', Naruto," was Kakashi's only response.

"If you don't hurry you will become breakfast for something else. I saw your battle last night, so I know that you had trouble with the little scorpions," it called back.

"Shall we go?" came Sai with his fake smile.

Without question, the team followed closely behind the tabby.


	6. How Things Happen

**Disclaimer: ** And yet I still don't own Naruto.

**Author's Note:** Well here is the next chapter. For those you have avidly read my work, I thank you for your support and those who are reading this for the first time, I hope you enjoy it. I am going to give ya'll a little heads up, I am going to be giving the background info on the character I introduced in **An Unwelcome Welcome**, so be prepared for a few slow chapters, sorry about this for those of you who enjoy the action packed writings. I don't know when my next posting will be but I hope you continue to enjoy **8 of 9**. Remember to read and review. Thanks.

**How Things Happen**

They had been walking in silence for nearly an hour when Naruto spoke up.

"So, do you have a name tabby?"

"Name?" it answered inquisitively, "Name? Well Boss always just called me 'Neko', so I guess you could consider that my name."

"So 'Neko' were are we heading?" this time Sakura was the one to ask a question.

"We are heading home."

"And home is…?"

"My home is with the Boss, Naruto-kun."

"Awwwwe, come on, that didn't answer the question."

"Yes, it did but not what you implied. We are heading to the abandoned village, the one I am sure you were told of for this mission."

"Yeah, I remember Sensei saying something about a village."

"So Neko, what happened to the village?" asked Kakashi.

"I supposed I might have time to tell you."

"Come on, tell us."

"I was also told you were annoying, Naruto-kun. I will give you the whole story, admitting certain parts, for those are for Boss to tell you." He paused here as though he were collecting his thoughts.

Nearly 16 years ago the Village Hidden in the Dark was preparing for another war with Konoha. The last one had ended in a stalemate and for the shniobi of this particular village that was the ultimate insult. The leader of the village came to the conclusion that to seal a bijuu in a vessel would make the perfect weapon, one where he could take it onto the battlefield and then release the seal, destroying Konoha and securing their place in the world of shiobi as the strongest village.

However, in order to seal a bijuu, he needed a babe, they are the easiest to transfer the power too, no worries about the bijuu's charka destroying the coils of a battle-tried shinobi. Once the plan was decided, all he needed was a newborn. He decided to wait on the birth of his second born. He already had an eight year-old son from his first wife, who died in child birth, so his clan was guaranteed to continue on, no need for another. The birth of his second son was a great day for those who believed were looking forward to the new war. The child was not to have a long life, just one long enough to be able to become a weapon to fight Konoha.

As fate would have it, one of the more powerful clans was celebrating the birth of their newest member, the Boss. They were so proud to add him to their clan and train him in their family tradition and teach him their legacy. He promised to be one of the strongest shinobi to ever come out of a clan full of strong shinobi. They were hoping he would be able to bring recognition to their clan from the rest of the shinobi world. Unfortunately, this was never to happen.

The night of his birth, the village's leader summoned Yamata no Orochi, the Eight-tailed demon. There was however a flaw in his plan. Once summoned, the creature proved to be to strong for him and quickly went mad. Being the second strongest of the tailed demons, it made quick work of the village leader, his best shinobi, and devoured the innocent child. It then turned its wrath to the village. It destroyed everything it came in contact with, whether it was man, woman, the young, the old, the healthy, or disabled, it didn't matter; if it was human it was going to die.

As the creature came to the Boss's clan's compound, they made the toughest decision of their lives; Boss would have to become the host of the bijuu in order to try and save as many lives as possible. It was decided that his family would distract the demon, while his uncle volunteered to be the sacrifice and sealed the demon inside his beloved nephew. His uncle was considered one of the strongest shinobi in the village and was forced to seal the demon into his beloved nephew, sealing the boy's fate as a human sacrifice, a jinchuuriki.

So while his family fought, he prepared the babe for his destiny. Unfortunately, by the time the bijuu was sealed the village was in ruins and most of the clan was dead. Those who survived the onslaught were injured and many would die because of the injuries they sustained during the battle.. Those who sustained fewer injuries decided to bury their dead clansmen. They said goodbye to their loved ones and began to think of a way to rebuild their lives.

After several days of discussions they came to the conclusion that staying in the ruined village would be a mistake, so they decided on the only sensible idea, they would move to another hidden village and start over. In fact that is what many of the other villagers did and they were packing to get up and go, when another question arose, what to do with the newborn. They knew his life was going to be filled with difficulties once people figured out what he jailed. After several more days of discussion they decided that he should not become a shinobi and that taking him to one would only encourage him to dream of becoming one. He would have to grow up away from his family, in a village without ninja. His grandfather agreed to be his guardian, since he was Boss's closest living relative.

"The next day they packed up and went to a peaceful village where Boss was supposed to spend his days in blissful ignorance of what he housed. However that was to never happen. But as you can see that didn't happen. Now we live here in the home of his former clan."

They all were quiet, drinking in all that they had been told.

"So, Neko, what ever became of the rest of his clan?"

"They were all killed, Sakura-san, by other members of their former village in revenge for being forced to leave their homes and I personally believe in hopes of attaining Boss and seeking to use his power for their own deeds."

"You mentioned that he grew up in a village without shinobi, but it is quit clear that he is one, how did that come about?"

"Kakashi-san, that is one of the questions I will let Boss answer for himself, he deserves to tell you that, not me. That will be all of the questions for now," he said as if reading the teams mind, "for now we should travel in silence, we are nearing the village and I would prefer not to speak."

They were more than happy to oblige, what they had just heard was hard to digest.

After what seemed like hours they came upon a wall, or what was left of a wall. Neko lead them through one of the many holes that decorated most of the wall. They followed.

"This is kinda eerie," Naruto seemed to voice what was going through most of their minds.

"Well this is the best place for a jinchuuriki to hide, Naruto-kun. To make it this far into the Land of Darkness, it's a miracle for all but the most experienced shinobi. I even have my doubts about your sensei making it this far. He is already suffering from chakra exhaustion because of his attack last night."

"Neko, where are you taking us?" Sakura asked after they had been wandering in the village to them what seemed like hours.

"Here." The cat stopped in front of a large compound. This seemed to be the only intact building in the entire village. "This is the where the Boss's clan made its last stand as shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Dark and this is where I leave you."

"But how are we going to find him in this large place?!" asked an exasperated Naruto.

"You are a shinobi, are you not Naruto-kun? I shall see you again but until that time, I say goodbye," with that the tabby vanished in a small puff of smoke.

"Well, I guess we make our way inside," came Kakashi everyone be on your toes, we saw what this guy is capable of yesterday."


	7. Truth

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Thank you

**Truth**

They slowly made there way into the entrance yard of the compound. It was obvious that someone had taken care of this place. Kakashi lead the way through a door into the main building of the compound. It was large and empty but not completely unwelcoming. There were more signs that somebody lived here.

"Good to see you again," came their 'host' disembodied voice, "I see I won the bet with Neko. Well come and find me, I will be waiting." With that he was gone.

"Well, the cat lead us into the appropriate place," Sai tried to say jokingly.

Kakashi lead the way further into the compound. After several minutes of searching they came into a large open area in the middle of the compound.

"It seems we have stumbled onto his training grounds," commented Kakashi

There were shuriken, kunai, and holes, consistent with the use of powerful ninjutsus. They pushed forward, remaining as stealthy as possible.

They soon found what they who they were looking for. A small, almost under furnished apartment, which made Naruto think of his own home.

"I see you have made it in time for supper," came his voice.

Their eyes went to were the voice came from. The same shinobi that had 'welcomed' them yesterday stood in front of a small, cooking fire.

"I am sincerely sorry about the small portions but I am not used to serving dinner for more than myself."

He set a small pot of stew on top of his table. It had been set for four.

"I would join you but I don't think that my presence would make good company," a touch of sadness in the voice. "I shall join you after have finished."

He walked passed the confused group. As he was about to leave the room he turned back toward them and with a small smile said, "I am glad you made it here alive."

The four cautiously made there way to the table. He was right, there was nothing more than water and the stew. The looks were not very appetizing but the smell was more than inviting.

"Well, it would be rude to not eat it," came Naruto's voice, obviously hungry.

"Before we eat, Sakura, can you look and see if there are any signs of poisons."

"Right." She made quick work of her assignment and replied, "Sensei, there are no signs of poising or even poisons in this place."

"You know if you guys won't eat this, I really do enjoy it," came a small voice from under feet.

"Neko-san, what are you doing here."

"Naruto-kun, you really are an idiot, I need to eat too. Since you all are to cautious make me a bowl and I will taste it."

Quickly doing as the cat, Neko began to eat.

"Well at least I won't be hunting tonight, thank you for the free meal. So, I would suggest you hurry up and eat, there is much the Boss wants to tell you," with another small puff of smoke the cat was gone.

"Okay, is it just me or is that cat really arrogant," came the sound of an annoyed Naruto.

They sat down and began to eat.

"Boy, this stuff is good, what is it?"

"It's hasenpfeffer. And I am glad to see you are enjoying it, I usually don't cook for others."

Their 'host' had appeared with out warning sitting on a small couch toward a fireplace on the other side of the room.

"Thank you for the compliment, I haven't got many of them in my life. I am sure by now Neko told you that I am the vessel of Yamato no Orochi, but that is for after you eat, if you need more time I will be happy to leave to you to your meal."

"No, we have finished. And there are a few questions we have for you."

"Very well, Kakashi, I will answer all of your questions. Come sit, I will be happy to make room for all of you."

He got up and made room for his guests. Kakashi and Sai walked confidently over to were they had been invited to sit, where as Naruto and Sakura were more cautious. Both glanced toward their 'host' in hopes of making eye contact with him. They were greeted with the same cold stare they received yesterday. They gave a shiver as his eyes met them.

Kakashi was the first to instigate the conversation.

"First off, you seem to know all of us and yet we don't know who you are."

"You wish to know my name. To be honest with you I haven't been called by my real name in years," he seemed to stare off deep in thought. "Well I guess if you wish to know what to call me, you may refer to me as 'Tesshin.' I believe that is what I was once called."

"Tesshin, is it? Neko said you were born into a clan, would you mind telling us your clan's name as well?"

"I am sorry Kakashi, but that I will not, not yet any way."

"Wait, wait. How come you are so accommodating? Yesterday, you nearly killed me and then left us to die. What gives?!," yelled Naruto.

"Yeah, I mean yesterday, you seemed to have no problem killing us but now you feed us, tell us what is going on here," agreed Sakura.

"I figured you would be tired and probably hungry after the past twenty-four hours, but if you want to be treated like that again, I would be more than happy to do so," this last part was said in the same tone he had spoke to them in yesterday.

"No, no that is fine," Sakura said, smiling nervously.

"Naruto, if I wanted to kill you yesterday I would have punched you but I had pity on you, don't make me regret it."

"Don't worry about him anymore, Tesshin-san. I will be the one asking questions from here on out" with this Kakashi glared at his companions, almost daring them to talk out of line again. "Now, my next question, Neko has told us about what you are and why you carry a bijuu but how did you come to be in a place like this."

Tesshin sat quiet for a while, looking into the fire he was standing in front of and then he began.


	8. Tesshin's Tale part one

**Disclaimer: **Same as the last few chapters

**Author's Note/Warning: **This chapter and the next are nothing but backstory to my OC, so if you want to skip them the go right ahead. I was always taught and have discussed with a few of my readers that is it important to always understand where a character comes from in order to understand what he does. I give you my word that after the next chapter I will get back on track but just go along with this little detour, you might find it entertaining. I hope you enjoy and remember to read and review.

**Tesshin's Tale  
**

A small four year old boy sat in the bushes watching the strange men doing some of the most amazing acrobatics he had ever seen. Sure he had heard of people being able to do things like this but it was amazing to truly sit there and watch as these people move. Off to the side he saw another one of the small group of people begin to do something funny, with his hands then he slammed them on to the earth causing a wall of dirt to raise the young boy, 100 feet in the air. This was amazing to watch, he could have sat there all day watching them; which is what he was planning on doing. His grandfather had died last year and while the village made sure he didn't go hungry, none of them really seemed to honestly care about the young boy.

"Kind of amazing, isn't it kid."

"Ye…" the boy turned around with a startled look into the eyes of a man dressed just like the other three he had been watching. He thought he was hidden. What was he going to do now, he could try and fight but if this guy was anything like the others he didn't stand a chance. He did the only thing he could think of at the time, he ran. He got about 3 meters before the man caught him by the back of his collar. He picked the small boy up and dragged him into the clearing were the man's other teammates were sitting.

"So you're the person who has be spying on us all day," spoke one of the strange men, "I suppose you are wondering what we are going to do to you now that he have you."

"I suppose you will do whatever you wish, Sir," the boy retorted in a shy but solid tone.

All four of them were slightly taking a back, here was a boy that had to be no more than four and yet he wasn't begging for his life or even seemed afraid of them killing him.

"Tell me boy, why aren't you trying to run?"

"You would just catch me again and I am sure my punishment this time would be far more severe than what it already is."

"Why are you so sure that you will be punished?" asked the one who had put of the wall of earth.

"That is what always happens when I get caught doing something I am not supposed to, the village elders tell me 'that it is for my own good.'"

"Well in our world those who are caught spying are killed on sight, so you might want to beg for you life."

The thought of losing his life obviously was a little unnerving, but what caused more problems was not that he didn't seem to weigh the options in his head, but that those watching the young boy could tell he had no idea of begging or fear for his own life that should be present in all children his age.

"Forgive me sir but if that is to be my punishment then so be it, but before you punish me, can you please tell me, how is it that you can do all those amazing things I saw you do?" the last part of what he said was with as much shock and awe that was common to young boys his age.

The four of them stared for a moment and then began to laugh with all of their might.

"Boy, we would not harm a curious youngster as you. You are no ninja, you are just a curious young lad and therefore there is no need to take your life," came the man who had drug the young boy into the circle.

"Tell us…what is your name?" came the other in-between breathes for he was still laughing.

The young boy just stared at him for a while

"Tesshin."

"Well, Tesshin, you certainly live up to your name," he motioned for his companions to join him so they could converse without being over heard by young ears.

"Well guys, what do you think?"

"He fits the description."

"And he is about the right age too."

"Yes, but he is an orphan, as far as we know the kid who we are looking for should be taken care of by his grandfather"

"His grandfather was old, what is to say that he didn't finally croak."

"That makes sense. So I say that we continue on the path for a while and then come get this kid if the other leads turn out to be false."

"So we are in agreement, then?"

They small group shook their head in agreement.

"Alright boy, we have decided your punishment. We told you we are shinobi and we have been sent to your village on a mission to look for any young boy or girl that wishes to enroll in our academy for the next year. After you graduate you will become a shinobi of our village. What do you say?"

The boy's eyes light up like the sun, he could become like them. He could barely hold in his excitement. The stoic boy from a few minutes ago was quickly replaced by a normal hyperactive four years old.

"Glad to see you are excited but you have to wait two years, sorry but rules are rules."

Not like the boy cared, he could be like they guys he just saw. He would be going places. That was the only thought was he made his way back to his village, back to the little shack he called a home. As he approached he could see his small stipend of food he received every day from the village. Even this meager amount would not dampen his spirits.

As he was about to take a bite out of his food a small shadow crept toward. Inch by inch the little shadow came closer and closer until, it jumped!

"Owe! Neko, how many times have I told you that my feet are not toys?"

The playful little kitten just looked into the boy's eyes, he pupils where wide with excitement; he knew how to get this boy to play.

"I guess if you want," he said as he reached out and grabbed the little kitten's tail playfully.

Their game continued like that for a while, the boy would grab the kitten's tail, or attempt to and the kitten would swipe at his hand in an attempt to keep this from happening. Soon the black and white kitten was tired out from their game and curled up in the boy's lap and began to purr.

"Guess what, Neko. Soon you and I will leave this village; we will make it on our own. I will become a ninja; all we have to do is wait. We have waited this long for something to happen, what is a couple of years?"

_Meow_

"I knew you would agree. Well I guess we better get to sleep, tomorrow it will be another day."

And the next day was like any other day for the boy and his small friend. By the time he woke up the kitten had gone off to do whatever cats do when they aren't around humans. It didn't concern Tesshin much, Neko always came back he was the only reliable thing in his whole life, since his Grandfather had died not too long ago. So Tesshin prepared, he ate some small portion of the food he received last night and then dressed in his usual attire. A worn out, burlap colored shirt, probably made from burlap too but he was not going to complain. It was the only shirt big enough for him, he had out grown the clothes he got just before his grandfather died already, a pair of black shorts, and a black pair of shoes that were many sizes to big for him. It was a warm day, so he decided against the shoes, they made him clumsy anyway.

He stepped out of his home and made his way down the sorry street he lived on. Since his grandfather died, he had not been able to afford to stay in the house were he had lived with his grandfather. It was taken from him but he was allowed to keep most of his belongings. The villagers professed to be kind to outsiders but in Tesshin's mind they really weren't. They had made it appoint to make him feel like an outcast the instant his grandfather was buried all because he wasn't born in this village. It was tough at times but at least he could enjoy his life, knowing the village would take care of him or at least not let him die until he was old enough to properly earn enough money to feed himself.

"All I have to do is wait until I am six and then I can leave this place with Neko and begin a new life."

As much as he tried to love this place, he had the same feelings for the village as the village had for him. He didn't hate it but it didn't feel like home. He was four and he already knew that he wanted a bit more of life than this village had to offer.

"So young Tesshin, it appears that you are the only person from this village who appears to have an interest in becoming a shinobi."

The voice caught him by surprise; it was one of the men from yesterday.

"Yes sir! I can't wait," was the excited response from the young boy.

"Well I think we should take you with us now but we have other villages in this remote country to travel looking for others to join the academy. I was however able to convince the others that it would be best to get you used to the environment of a ninja village and they agreed. So we will be back within a month to pick you up and bring you back to Iwa with us."

This was too much, Tesshin no longer had to wait two years to leave but now only a month, one month and his new life would begin. He was literally jumping for joy. What a happy day.

"I am glad to see you are excited. I guess I should be off, other villages to visit. See you in a month, kid." With that he turned and walked away.

Tesshin stood there for a minute and watched the guy's back as he walked away. He was leaving and sooner than a couple of years, in just one short month he would be free of this village and off on is own adventure. It was too much to keep bottled up, so he did what any normal four year old would do, he told the world.

_Four weeks later_

"Any day now, Neko."

_Meow_

"I know I am excited too."

The past two weeks were probable the best time in Tesshin's young life, he had been preparing everything for when that group of ninja came back to take him to were he could train and live, what he thought, happily. While he had been waiting he had asked all of the older villagers about what a shinobi was like. They had all said wonderful things about them and each had a story to tell about how a young group had helped them out in one way or another. He had listened quietly and then asked if they had ever been a ninja. The answer was always the same:

"No one _born_ in this village has ever become a ninja and I suspect no one _born_ in this village will ever want to, that is just who we are and we are happy to not want any more than what we have."

He knew they were trying to separate him from those his age that had been born in the village but by this point in his life he had grown used to it. The villagers didn't really trust him, nor did they want him in their village but he could live with that. He would be leaving really soon anyway.

So he did his new routine he had begun a few short days ago. He dressed himself, then prepared his breakfast from whatever food was left over from the small rations he received the following evening and finally prepared a small traveling bag so that way when the ninja finally came for him he would be ready to go in a moments notice. Soon he was ready to head out into the new day.

For the past few weeks he had been practicing what he saw the ninja do a few weeks ago. He even attempted a few times to make the wall of dirt that he had seen form by doing exactly what he had seen done. Each time he did it, it had been to no avail. Nothing happened except one or two times he got really tired but after a couple of minutes that feeling soon passed. So he continued to practice the feats of martial arts he saw to the best of his abilities.

The other children his age had no interest in what he was doing but why would they? They were born in the village and the few times they saw him practicing they had made fun of him. Tesshin had continued to trudge on but he became more of a pariah the more he practiced. And he liked to practice.

"I see you might have a knack for taijutsu."

"Thank you?" was Tesshin's reply to the disembodied voice.

"I suppose I should show myself?"

With that the man leapt from his vantage point and landed near the small, slightly startled boy.

Tesshin's eyes got big as he realized who it was. In front of him was one of the shinobi that had promised to take him with them and train him in their ways.

"You have finally come to get me?!" yelled the eager young boy.

"Yes, we just arrived this morning. So I hope you are ready to go be…"

"I have been ready. I will go get my things." But before he could run off the man grabbed his collar and pulled him back.

"Hold on there. First off we won't be leaving in daylight. To answer your question, a shinobi works in secrecy, so we will be leaving tonight. That is your first lesson."

"Okay, what other lessons can I learn…?"

"You will learn many other lessons in the next few years but for now that is the first one. So, go home and rest, we leave at midnight."

With that he sprinted to his small home, nothing was going to stop him now. He was on his way to bigger, better things. He was on his way to be a shinobi.

When he reached his home he practically fell through his door. He was so excited he couldn't wait. He grabbed his bag and was about to head through the door when he noticed the sun was still up. It was no where need midnight, he would have to wait. He had already waited this long, what would another few hours be.

He waited and waited and waited. The hours seemed to creep by. Soon a soft purr and a small weight on his lap told him that Neko was home.

"Okay Neko, it is almost time. Any minute now we will leave this place and never look back. We are on to bigger and better things."

All the kitten did was nuzzle deeper into his lap.

_KNOCK, KNOCK!!_

Tesshin sprang to the door, dumping a disgruntled kitten onto the floor.

"Alright kid, let's go. We have to be somewhere in an hour."

"Okay."

He reached down and grabbed his bag and then scooped the dazed kitten in his arms and placed him carefully into his bag.

"Sorry Neko but it will be easier for your and me if you just stay there and let me carry you."

Neko just looked at the young boy and curled up into one of his shirts.

"If you are ready, we are moving out now."

Time seemed to fly by for Tesshin. He knew he had not been born in the village but all of his memories placed him there. But what he was experiencing now was exciting. Once they had gotten outside the village one of the shinobi had picked him up, placed him on his back and was carrying him at far greater speeds then he could have possibly imagined. He loved the feel of the wind against his face. Even Neko had seemed to enjoy the breeze when he had stuck his head out of his bag. But as quickly as it had the feeling had began it seemed to end. The small group came to an abrupt halt.

"Alright, kid there is where you get off."

"What, what do you mean?"

"What we mean is part of our mission was to recruit possible academy cadets, but the other part…" the man's face seemed to fall.

"The other part was to find you."

"Why did you want to find me?"

"We don't know specifics but what we do know is that finding you was an A-rank mission. We are supposed to meet the client here any second now."

As if on cue, a shadow seemed to take form in front of them and began to take on a more solid form.

"I thought I also asked to bring along the boy's old man as well?"

"He is dead sir, nothing we can do about that."

"Well it appears the old goat finally decided to give up. About damn time if you ask me. So I guess the boy will do."

It didn't take long for Tesshin to realize it was the shadow talking to him but when a person formed from the shadow, it almost shook him to his core, not because of what he was seeing but because of the man he saw.

The man that seemed to almost step out of the shadowed seemed no more than the shinobi that had brought him hear but it was obvious he had lived through hard times. His black hair had streaks of white even visible in the dimly-lit night. He had scars on the parts of his arms that were visible and a gnarled looked looking scare going from the right side of his face through his right eye to his left check.

"You can go, I have what I need. You will receive your pay when you get back to your village."

The four nodded their heads and without a look back, fled into the night, leaving the boy with the man.

"Alright, demon scum. First off, I hired those ninja's to find you and your grandfather for one reason. I am here to get my revenge for what you and your damn family did to my village."

"But I…"

Tesshin was met with a strong backhand across his face.

"Lesson one; you will not talk unless I give you permission to speak. Now where was I? Oh, yes. I was going to kill your grandfather, like I and the rest of my companions did to your family."

"Why wou…"

Another hard backhand met Tesshin's cheek; tears began to well in the boy's eyes.

"Never forget lesson one. We killed them because they let you live. You are a demon, or should I say the carrier of a demon, to me there is no difference. You carry Yamata no Orochi, the eight-tailed snake. We killed them to get to you. I lost them all and so have you."

It was too much for the small boy, we began to weep for the family he would never know. But his weeping only got him a swift kick to his gut.

"Lesson two, crying is unacceptable. If you cry, it will be worse than if you speak out of line. So now demon shit, what do I do with you? I could kill you, or I could let you live and go about your merry way… Why, hello, what do we have here?"

The man had just noticed the boy's bag begin to move on its own. He reached down and snatched it from him and reached inside. He hauled up an angry cat by the scruff of its neck.

_HISS_

"Well look at this, a f--ing cat. A demon and a cat. Well nothing to do now but get rid of it."

He reached into his kunai pouch but before he could he felt tiny claws reach into his skin.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

He tried to throw the cat but to no avail, the cat was holding on and the harder he swung his arm the tighter his grip got. Eventually he brought his kunai up to the cat and was about to remove the unwanted appendage when he felt a kick to his shin.

"Leave my cat alone!"

He dropped his kunai and picked up the boy by the scruff of his collar.

"Get your damn cat off of my arm," he said in a cool, calm, almost eerie voice.

"I can't, he thinks for himself."

"Fine then."

He dumped the boy on the ground and with his now free had grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck and proceeded to remove it from his arm. The little kitten had dug it claws deep and removing it was as tough as pulling nails but eventually he was able to remove the small animal.

"Well would you look at this?" he held up his arm to show off his new gashes, "I think these will scar and all from a little cat. Well I won't kill it; anything that can put up that hell of a fight should be taught how to fight even harder."

His eyes settled on the kitten, it was breathing hard and trying to clean the blood from its paws.

"And you, demon shit. You attacked me. For that I should kill you, but I won't, not yet. I'll teach you how to fight, how to use your power and then one day, when I say, we will have a fight to the death."

Tesshin just stood there, a large bruise on the side of his face was forming, where he had been kicked felt broken but he nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now then, I know your name but I don't give a shit about it. And I won't put up for any sensei bullshit either. You will call me Shishou for now but I will never give you my name and I will never address you by yours. Got it. Good. Now we move out."

He set out at a pace easy for the boy to follow but fast enough to make him work. The next few years were going to be the worst in the young boy's life.


	9. Tesshin's Tale part two

Eight Years Later

_Eight Years Later_

"No matter how many times you try that Neko, it won't work on me anymore."

"It was much more fun when you were little," came the snide remark of the black-and-white tabby, "I could sneak up on you and we would have so much fun."

"Yeah, but that was before."

The past eight years had changed the duo and in some ways for the better and in many for the worse. The little four year-old died that night eight years ago. That night he became a shinobi. He had been put through some of the most horrendous training imaginable. At times he would go days without even a simple water break to "test the limits of his demonic powers," as it was put by the man who trained him. He refused to call him Shishou or really anything that gave him any title of respect. He didn't deserve it, not after the way he treat Tesshin the past eight years.

In the past eight years, Tesshin had changed. In the first year of his training, he had been pushed to finally tapping into the power of the demon sealed inside of him. That had not been a pleasant experience. It had almost killed him. That type of raw power was not meant for a five year-old to handle but he had lived. But that wasn't enough for the old bastard, no he wanted him able to handle that much power and soon he was able to at a great personal cost to himself. At his young age, whenever he would try and use that power, he would lose himself. He would almost become the serpent, itself. And armed with his new power, that old bastard had begun to hire him out as a homeless-nin many missions to line his own pockets. Most of his missions were assassinations or sometimes just straight murder. As a homeless-nin they could take any job they wanted and not worry about the consequences, on several occasions that had been the case. They had been hired in private to kill another person, usually a political opponent and a couple of times his employer had tried to kill him. Tesshin had made sure their deaths were particularly slow. Tesshin detested this kind of job but he was good at it. If his target was alone he would easily finish the job but where they were guarded he would use the demon's power and remove both the guards and the target.

"You know it is almost time, right?"

"I know Neko, I know. I think that is why we are going to the Land of Darkness again."

"You think he…"

"Yes, I do. Well speak of the devil."

"Who you are calling devil, demon spawn?" came the harsh reply of the man that had caused so much grief for Tesshin.

"I was calling you the Devil," he responded in a cool, calm voice, "since I am a demon and you are my master; then of course that must make you the Devil."

"Why you little piece of shit!" he swung at him.

Tesshin easily dodged his fist.

"If you wanted to spar all you had to was ask." Came a heartless response

"Not here, not now, we will wait you piece of shit," he growled.

"Fine by me but this time you will not get the upper hand."

"Next time, I will kill you," he stated as he walked off.

"As amusing as that was, I don't think it was wise," replied Neko.

"Like I care. I have been trained most of my life for this fight and I do not plan on dieing."

He knew the time was coming, the real reason why the old man was training him to be a shinobi, the fated duel to the death he had been promised almost eight years ago. In less than 12 hours the time would come to kill or be killed. It is not that he minded the idea of killing at this point. He truly believed that to be the real reason behind all of his assassination missions. To get him so desensitized to the idea of killing he could do it without any thought, without any apprehension, and without any regret. In fact, his first assassination never haunted his dreams, never bothered him, but at times he would almost regret that that man's death started him on this path.

"So the time has come to see if what I have been doing for the past eight years will be enough to save my life."

"And why wouldn't it, there have been very few that can stand up to you and if you use Yamato no Orochi's power, I am sure he is nothing."

"I guess you are right, but still there is a level of uncertainty in what we do."

"You should be more like a cat."

"You mean vain."

"No, I mean confidant. You have survived his training and if what I saw was an indication of what is to come, he won't survive."

The two set off toward the direction they knew would lead them to the Land of Darkness.

The twelve hours had flown by. By the time the sun was coming up they were in the former Village Hidden in the Dark. He had been here many times in the past few years but the destruction always amazed him. Except for one building that had suffered little or no damage. It was his family home. If things had been different he would have grown up there. On many of his visits he would sit in the large opening area and just imagine himself playing with clansmen his own age, not a care in the world. He was always brought out of his daydream by the old man saying something along the lines of

"Yeah, this place isn't the shit hole that most of the village is but your family was strong, too bad I had to help kill them. Oh well, they got what was coming to them."

Tesshin knew he loved to brag about killing his family but he would not let it get to him. He never knew any of them and his memories of his grandfather had long since faded to just fuzzy pictures. All he had known was disdain, sorrow, and in the last few years, death. That was his life that was all he knew, that was all he knew how to express, expect to Neko, the only creature to really show any kindness to him that he could remember.

"Well, Neko, incase I don't make it, I want you to go somewhere and become the ninken of other shinobi. I am sure anybody would be happy to have you as their companion."

"Hey Boss, don't say such things. I know you can win this one."

"If I _do_, I am going to make sure to take him with me."

"That is some small consolation for your death..."

"But it is better than having that type of scum wandering around."

"Well then, I guess you are set, I will watch from a vantage point."

With that the tabby puffed to a safer distance, leaving Tesshin more alone than he had felt in years. He knew this was why he had been trained but yet he was not prepared

"So I guess you know why we came here."

"Yes, this is where you want your final match with me to take place."

"Kinda poetic, ain't it. This is where I lost my home and you lost your humanity, if you ever had any to begin with. Get ready."

Tesshin slowly sank into his own stance. Without warning the old man charged. He swung high. Tesshin jumped and brought his knee into the other's jaw. With a defining crutch, he felt his jaw give way. A decisive blow but it wouldn't slow the old crone down. He landed and immediately started going through a series of hand signs.

"_Ninja Art: Shadow Walk Jutsu."_

With that, Tesshin slowly began to sink into shadows that surrounded him.

"That is the first ninjutsu, I taught you. I know everything about it. You are going to have to try harder than that."

"You are right, it is rather simple, but I can do this…"

The sound of shuriken and kunai came whizzing through the air. He easily dodged them.

"You gave away your position; you know that that jutsu doesn't allow for the fastest movement."

As he began to say this the smell of fire caught is nostrils. He turned in time to see a giant fireball moving toward him.

"You are right but if you move before your opponent does, then you can counteract that effect."

The only response was a kunai hitting his left shoulder.

"Damn it, I missed."

"Yeah, to bad you forgot one little detail," Tesshin said with a groan as he began to pull the kunai from his arm, "the damned serpent does not like me to bleed, so he gave me a little gift."

As he removed the kunai, it was easy to see what he talking about. Though the kunai had embedded itself into his skin, it had not cut the flesh. Yamato no Orochi had mad his skin as tough as iron, though not impenetrable, his skin was tough.

"I didn't forget, you piece of demon shit…" he began as he started to almost melt into the shadows, "I knew it would get you off guard." The last part was said as he rose from the shadows and held a couple of kunai to Tesshin's throat.

"A living shadow, simple but affective but I think mine is better."

"What do you me…ahhhh," he screamed as a shuriken had landed neatly between his second and third rib, effectively piercing his lung.

"I made sure to put it in such a spot to wear you cannot remove it, so even if you do end up killing me, you will not survive this fight."

All the sadistic bastard did was laugh, hard.

"What the hell is so funny?!"  
"You," he said in-between snorts. "Just so you know, I didn't intend on living after this anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean you demon spawn is that even if I were to kill you, I knew you were going to be able to kill me," he said with that sadistic smile that Tesshin had come to loath, "and even if I could walk away from this place, I would have nothing to live for. I have spent what was left of my shit whole life on one thing. I wanted revenge on the godforsaken pieces of shit that f--d up my life, and you are the last ones of them. Not to mention the demon that destroyed my life. So when you die, I have no need to live."

His smile never left his face as he spoke.

"Well then, I do not want to make you late for your own death."

As fast as he could he began to draw on the demon's chakra. To him is seemed to take an eternity but to his opponent it was instant. The chakra began to wrap itself around his body. His eyes become as red as the demon's itself. As this continued, the chakra began to rise toward the sky, winding itself around the boy. Soon it reached its pinnacle and formed the first head of Yamato no Orochi. It opened its eyes to reveal they were just as red as the boys. It seemed to smile at its next victim, the promise of pain and destruction, seemed to incite joy in the evil creature.

"This is only an eighth of the power that is locked inside of me. More than enough for you," Tesshin almost hissed.

With that he lunged. His fist connected with soft flesh and the only thing that could be heard was the gridding of bones. His knee connected with the other man's sternum, destroying his rib cage and piercing his other lung.

The blood was freely flowing from his mouth and what was left of his eye sockets. He didn't even try to put up a resistance. He was strong; an elite jounin prior to the fall of his village but this was different. This was the power of a jinchuuriki, a demon in human form. He was no match, even at one eighth of the power, he was a dead.

_THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK._

He felt a sharp pain in his wrists and ankles pinning him to one of the abandoned buildings. With what was left of his sight, he looked to see a kunai in each of the joints.

"I will not kill you. But I do not have to let you live either."

"So you piece of shit you are going to leave me here."

"No, you are too weak to live long and if you do not die from your injuries, the infection that is sure to set in from the healing will kill you."

"So, you sick piece of shit, what are you going to do."

"I am going to give you the chance to live."

The sun was setting over the village when inhuman screams pierced the sky.

"Neko, it appears as though he chose not to live."  
"I hope it wasn't one of the spiders, they are the cruelest of them all."

After a few more minutes he listened to the screams, but eventually even those died away.

"So Boss, what will we do now?"

"We stay here; I have no desire to deal with the outside world anymore."

"I can understand but you know, eventually somebody will come, they always seem to come."

"I know. But right now, I don't want to worry about it. And when they come I will be ready."


End file.
